I never quite got his name, but I got his number.

It was No 21. And he was one of the scores of pedicab drivers in Beijing's Back Lakes area identified by the impersonal double-digits on their badges.

There are at least three pedicab or tricycle taxi companies plying the tourist circuit in the Houhai area.

These days, they don't just number their drivers, but deck them out in uniforms and brand their modern day rickshaws in red, yellow or orange.

And then there are their "generic" rivals, like the tattier, dodgy brothers version I stumbled across.

Their English-speaking tout comes armed with an album of sightseeing highlights and brochures quoting 90-minute rates of up to 180 yuan (US$21.68) for two people.

After some feeble bargaining, I ended up in the backseat of a pedicab as the only passenger for the next hour. Seconds later, as the pedicab moved off, I realized that, unlike the tout, the pedicab driver couldn't speak English. That familiar feeling of being done over snuck up on me, along with the suspicion it was going to be a very long 60 minutes.

Surprisingly, it wasn't.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, it's a remarkably pleasant opportunity for some concentrated people-watching.

Okay, so maybe you look like a prat just sitting there but, as a foreigner, that's another familiar feeling. And the fact that Chinese tourists pass by in pedicabs also helps.

My trip took in Qianhai and Houhai, including stops at Guanghua Temple and Soong Ching Ling's former residence. You can stick your head in but visit another day. As with a taxi, a pedicab's time is money.

My cheery young driver had cleared it with one set of hutong residents to walk me through their narrow courtyard - something he did with tourists regularly, based on the indifferent reaction of the householder warming her teapot on an outdoor coal-fired stove.

The language barrier prevented any real insights into the lives of hutong dwellers, but changes are evident in the loss of some courtyard homes and the addition of double garages to others.

They're changes you can discover by cycling the district yourself. There's a well-marked bicycle rental stall next to Jian Hypermarket on the eastern shoreline of Qianhai Lake that quotes 10 yuan (US$1.20) hourly or 15 yuan (US$1.80) daily rates (200 yuan /US$24 deposit).

Bringing or renting your own bike would also allow you to go further afield.

By pedicab, one hour isn't enough to take in the much quieter Xihai above Houhai, or to visit the Drum and Bell Towers.

But for tourists with limited time, pedicabs are a practical and fun option. My tour cost 50 yuan (US$6.02).

Just brush up on your Chinese first. If pedicab drivers could speak English, they'd probably be peddling things other than bicycles.

(Shanghai Star April 4, 2003)